Process of recovering lubricants



Patented Apr. 2, 1929.`

EDGAR N. HILBERT, F SPOKANE, WASHINGTON. I

' PROCESS 0F RECOVERING LUBRICAN'I'S.

Application liled January 23, 1926. Serial No. 83,275.

My present invention relates to improved rocess of making grease andlubrlcants rom mineral oils and especially from impure oils by theaddition of a liller and an 6 exchange of heat. After the exchange ofheat the sediment 'or settled' matter that may be present is drawn oiland soliditied or partially solidified for use as grease or lubricant.

The figure is a view, principally l11.1 vertl- 10 cal section, of anapparatusfor carrymg out the process.

The process is especially adapted for use in the recovery of`lubricating grease vfrom crank case oils, transmission case 011s, etc.,

of automobiles in which the gasoline, kerosene and other volatilematters have been mixed with the lubricating material. When such oilsare treated they rst may be liltered or screened for the removal of roaddust,l

metal particles, &c. Although this process is not confined to the use ofdiluted oils but may be utilized inconnection with new oil of variousgrades, the grease or lubricant that I recover and treat is vin the'form of a viscous fluid whichprovides a smooth and efficient lubricantfor general lubricating purposes.

' In treating the impure oil as crank case oil a filler in the form of afinely ground powder is added to the oil to be treated for theapplication of heat thereto and the quantity of this filler may bevaried in accordance with the consistency of the oil to be purified.

Such a filler may be composed of the fol-- lowing gredients in theapproximate proportion stated:

` Pounds.

Caustic soda- Y 3 Milk of lime (thick) 12 40 Animal fat or oil 15solution animal fat or oil is added after being proplerly heated .andthe heated fat is ,b

ythoroug y mixed with the solution until a crumbling mass is formed. Themass is then allowed to cool and is ground in as suitable mill to thedesired ineness or powdered form. 1

An example of the animal fat or oils used is stearine,I which is the fatcollected .in the abattoir of a packing house, and this low grade offatty oil is well adapted for use in connection with my invention;vAnother example is lard oil or rendered fat such as is unsuitable forhuman consumption.

In carrying out the process of my inven- 60 tion I utilize a storagetank yfor the oil to be treated and from which the latter is fed insuitable quantities for treatment to a heat-r ing tank. The filler isheated and stirred therein and themass is set on fire.. When..

. the lighter oils have been Aburned olf and the f temperature hasraised to at least 170.o to 200 centigrade the lire is extinguished byblanketing and the mass is drawn oil' and allowed to cool. ing oil aspetroleum, and Agreases, from a crank case may be stored in anelevatedtank `and drawn off as required by the use of the outlet valve 2 andpipe 3 and -flows into the treating tank 4whichis preferably of cylin-,V75 drical shape and of suitable size for the purpose. Y

This treating tank has at its bottom an outlet pipe 5 for the viscoussediment controlled by a valve 6 through which the re- 80 coveredmaterial may be drawn olfromthe tank after each heating operation. Thelower part of the tank may be heated by steam introduced into a steamjacket 7 to raise the temperature of the oil to or above the Hash point.This jacket forms an annular steam chamber about the lower part of thetank and the said chamber is closed at its upper. end by an annular,horizontal flange I8. y Steam may be introduced to the chamber throughthesteam pipe 9 which is provided with a gage 10 and the steam may besuperheated if desiredV by the use of an oil or, gas burner 11 locatedbelow the heating tank. A predetermined quantity of oil is poured intothe heating tank `from the storage or supply tank up to the dotted'linelevel 12 of the interior of the heatingtank which line corresponds withthe top of the steam jacket or partition 8 therein. After the tank hasyeen charged with oil from the supply tank 1 a predetermined quantityofthe filler as l above set forthis added to the oil in preparation forthe heating process. The upper 105' part of the heating tank is*lfashioned with a cooling jacket 13 and circulating pipes 14 areconnected thereto supply water for cooling purposes and to preventburning of the 1ining of the heating receptacle. As the oil to no Impuremineral lbricat- 70 on a lower bearing 17 at the center of the tank 4. Adetachable handle 18 is utilized on the shaft for actuating the stirrerblades or agitators 15 to thoroughly intermingle the filler with the oilpreparatoryv to eliminating the volatile substances bythe application ofheat. The material in this condition is then lighted and allowed to burnLand foam. In

. the use of crank case oils that contain certain percentage of keroseneand gasoline the burning process can go on until these constituents areeliminated.- The nat-ure of the matter eliminated by burning can beascertained by the character of the'flame in the burner, askerosene andgasoline will burn with a greater percentage of flame than the yheavieroil ingredients.

If marketable oil is employed as the burning agent, the process may bestopped when the temperature has reached 170o to 200 centigrade. The'flaming mass of oil and filler is extinguished by slipping the lid 19which 30 is pivoted at 20 in the frame 21 and this lid may be swungaround o`n its pivotsto the closed position to cut ofl' the airisupplyand extinguish the flame. The lid may be .closed or opened as the casemay require but is of course opened when the handle 18 is applied formechanically stirring the mixture as` the treatment progresses. By theappl`cation of heat through the `steam jacket with or without the use ofthe burner. 11 the contents of the tank 4 are heated to a temperaturethat willl provide ready ignition of the oil mass; this is especiallynecessary incold weather when the l Having thusA fully described myinvention,

tate.

mass is partly solidified and difficult to agi-i 1...In treatment thelid is left open and the handle on the agitator is in place to keep themass under constant movement. As the contents of the tank comes to aboiling or foaming condition the volatile elements are consumed or drawnoil as gas and are thus eliminated. the extent of which may bedetermined by inspection.

After the lire has beenextinguished the valve- 6 may be -opened andcontents of the treating tank 4 drawn oiZ' into some suitable vessel orcontainer. u The product is in the form of a semi-fluid or viscous massof the consistency of a thin paste somewhat similar to the well knownaxle grease, and this product is composed of the coagulated ingredientsof the filler together with the residue vfrom the :added oil after allextraneous vand ,volatile matters have beenburned from the particularlyadapted for lubrication accomplished by the use of grease gunsfor-greasing skidways for logs, and for use in grease cups.

.what I claim asnew and desire` to secure by Letters Patent isz- I n aprocess for producing a lubricatlng grease from crank case oil, thesteps consisting .in heating'a quantity of the oil,

adding thereto a ller in powder form pro f' i duced from substantiallyi' three pounds of caustic soda, twelve pounds of milk of'lime, 80

and fifteen pounds of fat as a binder, agitating the agglomerate masswhile heated, ig-` niting the mass to burnoi the more volatile oilstherefrom, and withdrawing the remaining product for use as a lubricant.

' In testimony whereof I aix my signature. EDGAR N. HILBERT1

